Sunday, 2 March 2008

I have always made the choice to buy the best eggs possible, but now I've been looking for something just a bit more special. They must be fresh, full of flavour and free range – so that's good for me and for the hens.

A recent shopping expedition introduced me to 'Old Cotswold Legbar' eggs, laid by 'old-breed' poultry. These are fantastic to look at – I was presented with a lovely collection of colours all in one box – cream, blue, green and pink with little speckles.

To enjoy their flavour I decided to serve them scrambled. After lightly beating them, I poured them into some melted butter in a saucepan over a very gentle heat. I stress that the heat must be very low, and don't stir vigorously, just fold over from the outside towards the centre, now and again.
I think we've all been guilty of murdering rather than scrambling – I certainly committed the offence in my younger days. Too hot with too much stirring will result in a horrible bobbly dry mess, with a watery fluid separating out of it. It's not nice and the pan will be so difficult to clean afterwards! Scrambled eggs should be soft and melting, even creamy.

I like to stir in a spoonful of creme fraiche and add a sprinkling of chopped fresh dill along with any seasoning, towards the end. Take the eggs off before they're done – they should be slightly runny – they continue to cook, even after they've left the pan.

You will notice from the picture that they're topped with tomatoes. For these, I sliced a generous number of largish tomatoes in half, placed them in a metal baking tray, sprinkled them with sea salt, a little sugar and a grinding of black pepper, and put them on the middle shelf in a very low oven for a very long time. The aim is to slowly dry them, not cook them – don't allow them to boil and check regularly. The tomatoes will slowly shrink, intensifying and concentrating their flavour into a wonderful super tomatoey, carameley yumminess.

If you would like to find out more about the speciality eggs visit: clarencecourt.co.uk.
Another delicious egg is the 'Burford Brown', which I've tried and can highly recommend.

A Little Bit About Me

I've been an avid collector of recipes over the years – mostly from books and magazines, but also from family and friends too.
I make no claims to being a perfect chef, but the people who eat what I cook, invariably, leave the table happy and satisfied.
Whilst I haven't yet extensively travelled the world, a comfy sofa, the internet and piles of books full of beautiful photographs, have served me well in gaining some knowledge and experience of other countries and their cuisine.

Desserts & Puddings

Miscellaneous

How To

Tasty Tips

MAKE WASHING-UP EASIER: After you've chopped meat or fish or used eggs or flour in your food processor, rinse out with cold water first, before immersing in hot. This stops the remnants from cooking on, making cleaning easier.

GET THE MOST FROM CITRUS ZEST: Grate the zest directly into the bowl, in which you are mixing your ingredients, as this will catch all the oils that burst from the skin, giving maximum flavour.

USE CLING FILM TO ROLL OUT PASTRY: Put one piece on your work surface, dust with flour, place dough on top and dust with flour again. Put another piece of cling film over it and roll away. Stops it from sticking and makes everything so much easier to clear up afterwards.

INVEST IN A SET OF MEASURING SPOONS: A teaspoon is only a teaspoon by name – with correctly sized spoons specifically for the purpose, you'll never get it wrong again.